"Raaaaaaah——!!!"
The white-haired girl Yamato unleashed a battle cry with a burst of energy.
Freed from the restraints of the Sea Stone Explosive Shackles, Yamato could finally unleash her full power.
Waves of white frost energy erupted from her body, her overwhelming aura causing her long white hair to flutter wildly in the air.
In the next moment, Yamato's form began to change—transforming from human to beast. Pure white fur rapidly grew, covering her entire body.
In no time at all, the once voluptuous human beauty was gone. In her place stood a graceful, fluffy beast-eared girl with an icy blue halo of cold energy floating behind her.
Mythical Zoan-type Dog-Dog Fruit: Okuchi no Makami Form - Beast-Man Mode!!!
Ever since she vowed at the age of eight to become Kozuki Oden, Yamato was no longer the pampered little princess of the Beasts Pirates. Under Kaido's orders, she became a fugitive, living day by day, often going hungry.
One day, weakened by starvation, Yamato sneaked into the Skull Dome. Wandering through its halls, she eventually stumbled upon the Beasts Pirates' Treasure Vault, where she encountered the mythical beast Okuchi no Makami. Driven by hunger, she ate the Devil Fruit.
Due to the Sea Stone Explosive Shackles, Yamato had been completely unable to use her Devil Fruit abilities under normal circumstances.
Only when challenging Kaido would he order her shackles to be removed, allowing her to freely use her powers and fight at full strength—only to be defeated, shackled again, and thrown back into prison to starve.
It was through these repeated battles against her father, Kaido, that Yamato mastered this ability.
"I never wanted to eat this Devil Fruit, but it has indeed granted me immense power. The me now is completely different from before," Yamato declared confidently.
"Mm, go ahead," Luo Xia replied nonchalantly.
As he watched Yamato transform into her beast-eared form, he found himself unexpectedly captivated.
Theoretically, as a human, Luo Xia had no particular interest in animals.
Back on Earth in his previous life, he had scoffed at so-called "furries," dismissing them as heretics.
But now… gazing at Yamato in her snow-white beast-man form, Luo Xia suddenly felt that furries weren't so bad after all.
Just as Luo Xia was lost in thought, Yamato struck like lightning.
"Godly Foot - White Serpent Drive!!!"
Whoosh!
Bending her knees slightly, Yamato shot forward like a bolt of electricity.
Boom!
The air cracked with a sonic boom as Yamato, wreathed in freezing white energy, closed the distance in an instant.
A hundred meters vanished in a single breath as Yamato closed in on Luo Xia, swinging down her black kanabo, A-Jian, with devastating force.
"Thunder, Rumble, Eight, Trigrams!!!"
As a certain Marine admiral once said, speed is power.
With the extreme velocity granted by her Okuchi no Makami Beast-Man Mode, the force behind Yamato's strike far surpassed anything she had achieved before.
Boom!
Kaboom!
Caught completely off guard, Luo Xia was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing through one rocky pillar after another, sending plumes of dust billowing into the sky.
Tap! Tap!
The pure white mythical beast, wreathed in an aura of frost and auspicious clouds, darted swiftly across the mountainous terrain toward the rubble.
"Luo Xia, are you okay?" Yamato asked with concern.
"I'm fine!" A massive hand pushed aside the boulder pinning him down, flipping it away.
After setting the goal to train and grow stronger together with Yamato, Luo Xia had considered removing her restraints.
Just as Luo Xia had anticipated, without the suppression of the Sea-Stone shackles, Yamato's strength skyrocketed by leaps and bounds.
Her power, speed, and Haki intensity had all multiplied exponentially.
Under the constraints of the Sea-Stone shackles, Yamato had only been slightly stronger than Jack at best.
Now, her strength far surpassed Jack's and even exceeded Queen the Plague, approaching King the Conflagration's level.
The recent strike from her club had even caused Luo Xia, whose mastery of Armor Dragon Slayer Magic exceeded 20%, to feel a slight sting.
"Do you need to rest and recover for a while?" Yamato asked.
"Yamato, it seems you're quite confident in your strength after being unsealed!" Luo Xia raised an eyebrow, feeling somewhat underestimated.
"Even against Ox-Head Gorilla Dad, I can hold my own now!" Yamato declared confidently.
"Just being able to exchange a few blows makes you complacent? Yamato, you're still far from ready. So now, give me everything you've got—let's fight to the death." Luo Xia grinned.
"Yes! Teacher Luo Xia!" Yamato instinctively responded loudly.
In an instant, she transformed into her Okuchi-no-Makami hybrid form.
"Unattended Ice Fang!!!"
The beast-eared beauty opened her mouth wide, unleashing an extreme freezing breath from within.
Luo Xia clashed his fists together and exhaled a torrent of blazing flames.
Fire Dragon's Roar!!!
Boom!
The extreme cold and scorching flames collided head-on.
Kaboom!
A terrifying explosion followed, sending massive plumes of steam billowing in all directions.
Under the cover of the dense steam, Yamato circled Luo Xia at high speed, striking again in the blink of an eye.
Black Armament Haki intertwined with pure white frost, coiling around her club A-Jian as she brought it crashing down toward Luo Xia.
"Ice Severing Slash!!!"
Facing the overhead strike, Luo Xia didn't even look up, blocking Yamato's fierce attack with his right arm.
Simultaneously, raging flames erupted from his back, forming draconic wings that swept toward Yamato.
"Mirror Mountain!"
Yamato willed it, and a layer of ice armor materialized over her body, deflecting the Fire Dragon's Wing Attack.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two exchanged blows.
From day to night.
In the end, Yamato was the first to collapse from exhaustion.
However, compared to the grievous injuries from previous sessions, today she was merely drained of stamina.
After the intense battle, both returned to their cave hideout, relaxing in the hot springs while feasting heartily.
"Huh, that's strange. Last time, there was a stone pillar here for foot massages—why is it gone today?"
Yamato muttered in confusion, still reminiscing about the 'toy' she'd found during her first hot spring visit here.
Luo Xia: "..."
He hadn't explained back then, and now it was even more awkward to bring up.
Truthfully, if not for considering Yamato an excellent sparring partner—and fearing she might flee if frightened—Luo Xia would have retaliated fiercely the last time she 'provoked' him like that, teaching her a lesson then and there.
Two hours later, Luo Xia felt his restraint nearing its limit. To avoid drawing the attention of the censorship gods, he decided to return to the Skull House to cool off, planning to resume training with Yamato the next day.
The following morning.
At the first light of dawn, Yamato awoke from her slumber, leaping to her feet, fully rejuvenated and brimming with boundless energy.
"Wahahaha, it feels so amazing not having the Explosion Shackles anymore! So, what should I do today? Wait, no..."
Yamato seemed to have realized something.
"In the past, I was trapped here because wearing the Explosion Shackles meant I'd be blown up if I left Oni Island. But now that I'm free from the shackles, if I still stay trapped here, then removing these Explosion Shackles would've been pointless!"
Yamato's eyes lit up with determination, and she immediately sprang into action.
Fifteen minutes later, at Oni Island's harbor.
"W-w-wait... Y-Y-Yamato-sama... what are you doing, young master?"
"Aaaaah, n-no... this is terrible! Yamato-sama has escaped!"